As he prepares for his first season as coach of the Dakota Wizards, Rory White said he was "sweating bullets" worrying about who would be his point guard.

White got his answer, when Maurice Baker - Dakota's all-time leading scorer - made the surprising decision to return for another season.

"I haven't had a chance to really to talk to him yet," White said. "I just wanted to make sure we got his contract in."

In addition to Baker, the Wizards will have four other returnees - former all-star Renaldo Major, Romel Beck, David Bell and Carlos English.

Baker, 30, has played parts of five seasons with the Wizards. Last year the veteran from Oklahoma State contributed 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He is the franchise's all-time leader in points (2,690) and assists (1,063).

White said that point guard would have been Dakota's No. 1 priority heading into Thursday's draft if Baker had not chosen to return.

"Having a veteran point guard is really important, especially with all the rookies we'll have up here," White said.

Major's return was no surprise. The small forward has been interning with the Wizards this summer.

The 27-year-old out of Fresno State has played two seasons with the Wizards. After sitting out the 2007-08 season due to heart surgery, Major returned to average 16.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Beck was a late-season addition whom the Wizards were very keen to bring back.

Beck, a 27-year-old small forward, averaged 15.9 points in his 16 games with the Wizards.

The feeling is Beck is close to getting a shot at the NBA.

"Romel was one of the last cuts of the Houston Rockets," White said. "I know he was thinking about going overseas, so we're very surprised and excited to have him come back."

Bell, 28, has been with the Wizards the past two seasons. Bell, a 6-1 guard, averaged 11.4 points last season and made 96 3-pointers.

Bell scored a career-high 34 points in Dakota's quarterfinal playoff victory against Iowa.

English, a 5-9 guard, was Dakota's 10th man last season. English, 24, played in 33 games, scoring 1.5 points per game.

In addition to the five players locked in, White said there is a good chance David Monds would also return.

Monds played seven games with Dakota at the end of last season, contributing 9.1 points and 7.3 assists. The 6-8 forward would be the only big man on Dakota's roster so far, giving a good indication where the team will be focused during Thursday's draft.

In addition to the five veterans, the Wizards picked up three players at their open tryout - point guard Manny Quezada (University of San Francisco), small forward Cameron Stanley (Wake Forest) and small forward Derrick Payne (Bowie State).

The draft, which has been trimmed to eight rounds this season, will use a serpentine format. The Wizards will choose 11th in every odd-numbered round and sixth in every even-numbered round.

The Wizards will hold a draft party starting at 5:30 p.m. at Stadium Sports Bar. The draft starts at 6 p.m.